Curtis E. LeMay is one of the icons of
American military history who rivals Mitchell in his importance and
controversial career. From middling origins, LeMay did not attend West Point,
earning his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1928 at The
Ohio State University. Over
the next decade he became widely known as one of the best navigators and pilots
in the Air Corps. In 1937 he located the battleship Utah in exercises off
California and "bombed" it with water bombs, despite being given the wrong
coordinates by Navy personnel; the following year he navigated B17s nearly 800
miles over the Atlantic Ocean to intercept the Italian liner Rex to
illustrate the ability of airpower to defend the American coasts; and in 1938 he
led flights of B17s to South America to display airpower's range and its role in
hemisphere defense. War brought rapid promotion and increased responsibility. LeMay began as a group commander in the Eighth Air Force, but within 18 months
had gone from lieutenant colonel to major general and an air division commander.
He had earned a reputation as an unusually innovative tactician and problem
solver, so when Hap Arnold had difficulty bringing the new B29 into combat
service, he chose LeMay to spur the program and then take over B29 operations in
China. His ability led Arnold to name him commander of the B29s in the Marianas
where the main air effort against Japan was centered. Always a tactical
innovator, LeMay took the risky and controversial step of abandoning the
longheld American doctrine of highaltitude, daylight, precision bombing, and
instead stripped his B29s of guns, loaded them with incendiaries, and sent them
against Japanese cities at night and at low level. The new strategy was
remarkably successful; Japan was devastated, and the dropping of the atomic
bombs in August 1945 brought the Pacific war to an end without an invasion of
the Japanese home islands and the hundreds of thousands of casualties that would
have entailed.

Returning to the States, LeMay served briefly
as the head of the AAF research and development effort, then was sent to Germany
as commander of the air forces in Europe arrayed against the Soviets. In this
position he was responsible for getting the Berlin airlift started in mid1948
after the Soviets had instituted a ground blockade of the city. This crisis
precipitated a major reshuffling in Washington. A war with the Soviets appeared
increasingly possible, and the Strategic Air Command, which would bear the brunt
of such a war, was seen as deficient. As a result, Hoyt Vandenberg relieved
George Kenney from command at SAC and named LeMay his successor. The building of
SAC into an effective and efficient warfighting arm was LeMay's greatest
accomplishment. The story of how he demonstrated his command's poor state of
readiness by a "bombing raid" on Dayton, Ohio, in which not a single SAC
aircraft carried out the mission as planned, is well known. He then set about
the difficult but essential task of retraining SAC. Using the authority
delegated him by Vandenberg, LeMay built new bases, facilities, and training
programs; began a "spot promotion" system for rewarding his best aircrews; and,
through his legendary use of iron discipline, soon transformed his command into
one of the most effective military units in the world.

In 1957 LeMay was named vicechief of staff,
and when Thomas White retired in 1961, he was elevated to the position of chief.
LeMay was one of the coldest of America's cold warriors, and partly for this
reason his tenure as chief was neither successful nor happy. Under the new
management policies of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and the "flexible
response" military strategy of Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen Maxwell D.
Taylor, LeMay found himself at constant odds. In his four years as chief, LeMay
argued strenuously for new air weapons like the Skybolt missile and B70 bomber,
and against the swingwing "fighter" plane, the General Dynamics TFX (later named
the F111). He lost all these battles. Moreover, LeMay had strong feelings
regarding American involvement in Vietnam, arguing against the gradual response
advocated by the administration. Once again he was ignored. When he retired in
1965, LeMay was widely regarded, and probably rightly so, as a great commander
of SAC but as a poor chief. His abortive political "career" as George Wallace's
running mate in the 1968 presidential election only further tarnished the
reputation he had built as a war commander and leader of SAC.

LeMay's only biographer
to date is Thomas M. Coffey, Iron Eagle: The Turbulent Life of General Curtis
LeMay (New York: Crown Publishers, 1986). Like Coffey's work on Arnold
discussed above, this book is based too much on interviews, newspaper reports,
and published memoirs. The result is an entertaining account of a great man's
life and career, but with little detail and serious analysis. Coffey is at his
best in describing LeMay's personality: he was unsophisticated, taciturn,
dedicated, tactless to the point of rudeness, more ambitious than he cared to
admit, extremely hard working, and he possessed unquestioned physical courage.
In addition, Coffey shows that LeMay was also a good family man and sincerely
concerned (sensitive would be too strong a term) about the welfare of his
troops-although the author implies this was more because happy subordinates were
productive ones rather than through any feeling of innate humanitarianism.

This book fails, however, in revealing the
details surrounding the events in which LeMay participated. The decision to
reverse three decades of American airpower doctrine with incendiary attacks
against Japanese cities raises profound questions of morality and legality.
Coffey simply restates LeMay's rationale that all war is awful, and it was
better to kill the Japanese than it was to kill Americans. There is something to
be said for that point of view, but it is entirely too facile. Are there no
limits whatever in warfare? Coffey would seem to imply so. More serious, there
is no discussion of LeMay's role in the military strategy-or nonstrategy-of the
Vietnam War. Unquestionably, the classification of sources was a problem here,
but other than arguing that LeMay never said he wanted to "bomb Vietnam back
into the stone age," Coffey does not take on this crucial but thorny subject.
LeMay later stated vehemently that he disagreed with administration policy
during the war, but we are given no details on an alternative. How precisely
would LeMay have fought the war? What targets did he intend to strike with
airpower, and what effect did he expect those strikes to have? Did he think the
Vietcong insur gency in the south would collapse if the leaders in the north
were coerced into withdrawing their support? These are fundamental questions
regarding the role of airpower in a "minor" war that are of great importance but
which are not explored.

Similarly, LeMay's advocated doctrine is
identified as the epitome of strategic bombing, but once again the implications
of such a statement are not examined. We are given no insights into LeMay's
theories of warfare and the role of airpower in modern war other than his belief
that strategic bombing, and lots of it, would be decisive. Was LeMay's thinking
truly that simplistic? Perhaps so, because it is unquestionably the case that
tactical airpower dangerously atrophied during LeMay's tenure and that the Air
Force as a whole became seriously unbalanced. One could argue that because of
this overemphasis on SAC, the Air Force was woefully unprepared for Vietnam.
Airpower was consequently so discredited that one could ask if LeMay actually
hurt the cause of American airpower.

One of the more interesting and potentially
significant issues that Coffey touches upon is LeMay's strained relations with
both Defense Secretary McNamara and Air Force Secretary Eugene Zuckert. Clearly,
LeMay believed that his preroga tives as chief and as military advisor were
being undermined by these men. In fact, the long tenure of McNamara at Defense
serves as a watershed in American military history. Prior to that time, military
leaders had some latitude in discussing military affairs with Congress and, to
some extent, the public. McNamara saw such a tradition as chaotic and moved to
change it by placing constraints on what the chiefs could say and to whom. This
is an important story, and although Coffey introduces it, he does not seem to
realize its implications. Overall, Coffey gives us a useful read, but a more
serious study of one of America's most important airmen is needed.

LeMay's autobiography,
written with the help of novelist MacKinlay Kantor, is titled Mission with
LeMay: My Story (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965). This is an engaging
and wellwritten story. LeMay's abrupt, nononsense personality comes through
clearly, and the book also provides an excellent insight into air leadership.
LeMay was intelligent and physically courageous-two qualities generally cited as
crucial for successful leadership-but the real reason for his sustained,
outstanding performance was his insistence on following through on a job until
its completion. His emphasis on rigorous training was relentless, and it was
this dogged and selfless determination to practice and work hard that were the
real reasons for his success. There is certainly a lesson here: great commanders
are often made and not born.

General Curtis E. LeMay

Curtis Emerson LeMay was born at
Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 15, 1906. He attended Columbus public schools and
Ohio state University, graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering
degree. In 1928 he entered the Armed Services as a flying cadet. He
completed pilot training at Kelly Field, Tex., and was commissioned a second
lieutenant in the Air Corps Reserve in October 1929. He received a regular
commission on Feb. 1, 1930.

The general's first tour of duty was with
the 27th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field, Mich. He served in various
assignments in fighter operations before transferring to bomber aircraft in
1937. General LeMay participated in the first mass flight of B-17 Flying
Fortresses to South America in 1938. This won for the 2nd Bomb Group the
Mackay Trophy for outstanding aerial achievement. Prior to our entry into
World War II, he pioneered air routes over the South Atlantic to Africa and
over the North Atlantic to England.

General Curtis E. LeMay

Biography.

This early photo of then Lieutenant LeMay
(center with helmet and goggles) was taken during the National Air Races at
Chicago in 1930. The unidentified officers are also members of the 1st
Pursuit Group.

Curtis Emerson LeMay was born at Columbus,
Ohio, on Nov. 15, 1906. He attended Columbus public schools and Ohio state
University, graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree. In 1928
he entered the Armed Services as a flying cadet. He completed pilot training
at Kelly Field, Tex., and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air
Corps Reserve in October 1929. He received a regular commission on Feb. 1,
1930.

The general's first tour of duty was with
the 27th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field, Mich. He served in various
assignments in fighter operations before transferring to bomber aircraft in
1937. General LeMay participated in the first mass flight of B-17 Flying
Fortresses to South America in 1938. This won for the 2nd Bomb Group the
Mackay Trophy for outstanding aerial achievement. Prior to our entry into
World War II, he pioneered air routes over the South Atlantic to Africa and
over the North Atlantic to England.

General LaMay organized and trained the
305th Bombardment Group in 1942 and led that organization to combat in the
European theater. He developed formation procedures and bombing techniques
that were used by B-17 bomber units throughout the European Theater of
Operations. These fundamental procedures and techniques were later adapted
to the B-29 Super Fortresses which fought the war to its conclusion in the
Pacific.

As commanding general of the 3rd
Bombardment Division (England), he led the famed Regensberg raid, a B-17
shuttle mission that originated in England, struck deep in Germany, and
terminated in Africa. In July 1944 he was transferred to the Pacific to
direct the B-29 heavy bombardment activities of the 20th Bomber Command in
the China-India-Burma theater. He later commanded the 21st Bomber Command
with headquarters on Guam, and still later became chief of staff of the
Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific. At the conclusion of World War II, he
returned to the United States piloting a Super Fortress (B-29), on a
nonstop, record flight from Hokkaido Island, Japan, to Chicago, Ill. He was
then transferred to the Pentagon at Washington, D.C., to be the first Deputy
Chief of Air Staff for Research and Development.

In October 1947 General LeMay was selected
to command the U.S. Air Forces in Europe with headquarters at Wiesbaden,
Germany. He organized air operations for the Berlin Airlift. A year later he
returned to the United States, assumed command of the newly formed Strategic
Air Command, and established its headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base,
Nebr. This central location was to become the nerve center of a worldwide
bomber-missile force.

Commanding SAC for nearly nine years, he
built, from the remnants of World War II, an all-jet bomber force, manned
and supported by professional airmen dedicated to the preservation of peace.
Under his leadership and supervision, plans were laid for the development
and integration of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capability.

In July 1957 the general was appointed
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force and served in that
capacity until July 1961, at which time he was appointed Chief of Staff.

General LeMay holds Honorary Doctor of
Laws degree from John Carroll University, Kenyon College, the University of
Southern California, Creighton University, and the University of Akron;
Honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Tufts University, Ohio State
University, and the University of Virginia; and an Honorary Doctor of
Engineering degree from Case Institute of Technology. His fraternal
organizations include Sigma Tau, Tau Beta Pi and Theta Tau.

General LeMay's distinguished service has
won him many awards and decorations from his government, as well as from
foreign governments.

General LeMay is rated a command pilot and
is qualified to fly jet aircraft. During his career he held aircraft
observer, combat observer and technical observer aeronautical ratings which
were later replaced by the current navigator or aircraft observer rating.

General LeMay

Destined to retire as the Air Force Chief
of Staff more than 35 years later, Lt. Curtis E. Lemay appeared on the
aviation scene in 1929 -- a young airpower enthusiast, fresh from pilot
training, proudly wearing his wings and his Sam Browne belt.

General LeMay accepts a Boy Scout badge
from a 10-year-old scout during a Pentagon ceremony in January 1963 to
commemorate the 53rd anniversary of scouting. Always interested in the youth
of America, and once a Boy Scout himself, General LeMay credited scouting
with helping him wear the stars of a general.

An avid hobbyist in the field of amateur
radio, General LeMay shares a tense moment with his guest, fellow "ham"
Thomas Brushart, as they search for a signal from the OSCAR, Orbiting
Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. The tiny transmitter made numerous passes
over Washington, D.C. in 1961.

A distinguished looking General LeMay
announces his retirement plans following two tours as Air Force Chief of
Staff. Now in the twilight of a brillant military career, General LeMay
retires on February 1 1965 after 35 years' service in the U.S. Air Force.

After completing a nonstop flight from
Hokkaido, Japan, to Chicago, Ill., in a Boeing B-29 Super Fortress in 1945,
a tired General LeMay was greeted in Washington, D.C., by fellow Air Force
Generals Emmett O'Donnell, Henry H. Arnold and Barney M. Giles.

As organizer of the famed Berlin Airlift,
General LeMay was visited frequently by top Air Force leaders. General LeMay
is shown here, shortly after the airlift began, leaving the Operations
building at Rhein-Main AB, Germany, with Air Force Secretary W. Stuart
Symington and the Air Force Chief of Staff, the late General Hoyt S.
Vandenberg.

General LeMay is congratulated by
Chairman-designate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Nathan F. Twining
after being sworn in as the new Air Force Vice Chief of Staff on July 1,
1957. General Thomas D. White, sworn in as Chief of Staff at the same time,
and Air Force Secretary James Douglas join in the Pentagon ceremony.

General LeMay reached the summit of his
Air Force career on June 30, 1961, when he was sworn in as Chief of Staff by
Secretary of the Air Force Eugene M. Zuckert. Observing the ceremony in the
rose garden of the White House are the late President John F. Kennedy and
then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.

General LeMay, while commander in chief of
the Strategic Air Command, is shown in unfamiliar surrounding aboard the
aircraft carrier USS Midway. In 1956 the general joined 50 high-ranking NATO
officials for a one-day indoctrination cruise with a US Sixth Fleet carrier
task force.

During the war in the Pacific General
LeMay commanded the B-29s which dealt the decisive blow against the Japanese
homeland. General LeMay is pictured during a 1945 visit to Mizutani
airstrip, Japan, following the end of hostilities.

General LeMay, an avid sportsman, display
his prowess with a shotgun in this 1961 photograph. His other hobbies
include such diverse activities as rifle and pistol shooting, Go-kart and
sports car racing, and "ham" radio operation.

Among General LeMay's many achievements is
a record-setting 13 hour, 2 minute, 51 second 6,322.85-mile flight in a
Boeing KC-135 tanker from Westover AFB, Mass., to Argentina. The general is
shown here during ceremonies at Ezeiza Airport, Buenos Aires, after his
arrival on Nov. 12, 1957.

Colonel LeMay, commander of the 305th Bomb
Group in England is pictured early in World War II with Brig. Gen. Haywood
S. Hansell. The Boeing B-17 in the background is one of the many quaintly
named American aircraft which carried the air war to Germany.

For a decade the names of General LeMay
and the mighty Consolidated B-36 were synomymous with the deterrent power of
the Startegic Air Command. The B-36 reached the peak of its development with
the 10-engine model shown above. General LeMay served as commander in chief
of SAC from 1948 to 1957 -- the longest tour as a major air commander in Air
Force History.

During a ceremony at the White House on 12
November 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented the Harmon
International Trophy to Gen. Curtis E. LaMay, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff
for his record-setting non-stop flight between the United States and Buenos
Aires, Argentina, 11-13 November 1957. Gen. LeMay flew a Boeing KC-135
tanker from the U.S. to Argentina in thirteen hours and two minutes,
covering 6,350 miles and setting a new world record for non-stop,
non-refueled jet flight. On the return flight, the KC-135 reached Washington
in eleven hours and five minutes, setting another record for the 5,204 miles
from Buenos Aires.